Butte, Montana, USA

​In Today's Daily Jigsaw Puzzle, we visit Butte, Montana, USA.

Butte is built on grit, copper, and a rebellious spirit. Once known as the "Richest Hill on Earth," it fueled the Industrial Revolution with its vast copper mines, attracting a melting pot of immigrants—predominantly Irish, Chinese, Cornish, and Finnish—who shaped its rough-and-tumble identity. 

Beneath its streets lies a labyrinth of abandoned tunnels from its mining days, adding to local legends of ghostly echoes from the past. ​

Butte's red-light district was once one of the largest in the West, with the Dumas Brothel operating from 1890 to 1982, making it one of the longest-running bordellos in the U.S. Today, it stands as a museum, preserving its salacious history. Meanwhile, Evel Knievel, the world-famous daredevil, was born here in 1938, leaving behind a legacy of ambition and risk-taking. The city even hosted the annual Evel Knievel Days festival for years.​

The Berkeley Pit, a former open-pit copper mine, has since become an eerie, toxic lake. But within its acidic waters, extremophile microorganisms thrive—organisms that scientists study for potential medical breakthroughs, including antibiotic and cancer research. ​

At its peak in 1920, Butte had more than 60,000 residents, but as mining declined, so did its population. Today, it hovers around 34,500 ♥